


Synesthesia

by Arcturus360p



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Face blindness, M/M, Musicians, Prosopagnosia, i love this au, paintings, revamp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 07:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8836237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcturus360p/pseuds/Arcturus360p
Summary: Once, he saw this man play the beautiful string instrument on the television, and for the first time in his life, Yuuri finally decided on something - to become a pianist in hopes of accompanying him in a concerto. However, fate can be very cruel. He lost his ability  to recognize faces, as well as his inspiration to play the piano again. Years passed, and he saw this man on television again, this time, creating his own music. 
He decides to go to Russia and see the world he sees, and much to his surprise, he just lives right next to him.
((Loosely based on Nodame Cantabile and Your Lie on April :3 This was a sort of revamp to my previous work, Painting Flowers))





	

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank everyone who waited for this. I also want to thank my friend for helping me with this.  
> I hope this will be satisfying enough. Please tell me what you guys think, and motivate me.. XD

"Take care, Yuuri," his mom gave him a hug, as tears started to form in her eyes. It pains him to feel her shaking almost too violently in his arms, but as much as it hurts to see her crying, Yuuri knew that she knew why he was doing this.

 His dad patted her wife on the back and hugged the both of them, as well. A very few people had supporting parents, and he was very thankful for his own. "All passengers of flight 236 to Pulkovo International Airport, please proceed to Gate number 3," a feminine voice echoed all throughout the lobby.

People waiting on the benches stood up and headed for the said gate. Meanwhile, Yuuri was still sniffling.

"I had never imagined that you would ask something like this for your birthday wish," his father said, as Yuuri stood up. The brunet smiled thinly and nodded. He bowed low to his parents.

"Thank you for everything, until now," he then turned around and took his first step away from that place. This place was his entire world for more than twenty years, and now, he's off to broaden his horizons. He thought that it was for his greater good.

They watched as their son's figure vanish from their line of sight, and Hiroko wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "Yuuri was such a fragile-hearted kid, but I don't want him to think that he's below any other people because of his condition," the brunette said, casting her eyes on the tiled airport floor. "He loves the piano a lot too. Minako thought him well. It's not wrong to let him learn more," tears welled up her eyes again.

"That's why I had to let him go," her voice cracked halfway and she broke into tears started crying again. Her husband only patted her back soothingly. "I made the correct decision right, love?"

Her husband could only nod, as he escorted her out of the airport.

* * *

 

He showed the lady his ticket and passport, and after a few procedures, she gave him a clearance to go. It was a swirl of emotions inside him, he felt very excited, nervous, and... worried.

He knew almost everyone in their small place in Hasetsu, (except for the tourists that occasionally came), even though he does not mingle with them a lot. His only friends around his age were Yuuko and Takeshi, who eventually got married to each other. They even asked him to play for their wedding.

 But now, he was about to go in a place where he barely knew anyone. He would try to go to Russia, just to get back his love for music, and try to move on with life without clutching on to other people.

 He looked out the airplane window to see the fluffy, and white clouds as the plane flew over them. However, he can slightly make out a person's vague reflection there, staring right back at him. He touched his own face, and the reflection did so, too. He should be used to this now. It has been two years, after all.

He picked up his iPod from his pocket and turned it on to listen to his favorite musician. The way the man creates music as he draws his bow across the strings of the violin gives him synesthesia. He was drowning in it, yet it feels great.

He was going to Russia in hopes of finding inspiration there, and to try seeing the world 'he' sees.

Maybe, just maybe, he could write his own songs, too

 

* * *

 

Yuuri just happened to come over this television channel back then. It was a video coverage of an international violin competition in Vienna, Austria. There he was, one of the youngest prodigies man has ever seen. He had long, silver hair and he plays the string instrument with such beautiful grace.

 He was never interested in playing anything, nor does he have plans for the future. He was just going wherever the waters take him. It was the first time he actually made his mind up, about anything.

Yuuri asked his parents if he could get some piano lessons, and his parents were shocked at first.

 Piano. He picked the piano in hopes of accompanying him in a concerto someday. It was a farfetched thought, back then, but as a 10-year-old kid, that was how he felt. He enjoyed learning new pieces from time to time. Minako, his piano teacher, just suggested taking things slowly. He would go straight to Minako's house after school, and she would give her new pieces for him to learn.

Years ago, he was the winner of a small competition in Kyushu. He never really wanted to join, but Minako urged him and told him that it was about time he tried to. Minako had to pick a song for him to play and she picked Chopin's Fantasie- Impromptu. Yuuri was hesitant at first. He's afraid that he might mess up, and be an embarrassment, but Minako just patted his head soothingly, saying that he could do it.

However, as he practiced for it, he came to love the music, just like how he loved the first piece he ever learned as a kid - Pachelbel's Canon. There wasn't too much pressure put upon him then and he had so much fun in that first piece. He learned how to have fun while playing.

There weren't many people there, but he felt like his heart was thumping really hard against his ribcage, and his palm was getting sweaty. The small audience gave an applause as he bowed.

From the audience, he could see his mom, dad, and sister. They smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He felt as if like his fingers were cramping before he started, but when his fingers went over the black and white keys, the world around him, seemingly vanished, as he got lost over the composer's fantasy. It somewhat made him feel as if he was under the moonlight, dancing, and chanting happily with pixies and gnomes. It was a weird thought, but that was how he felt.

This piece is a rollercoaster ride as it begins in a very fast tempo, then slows down and goes very fast again. He frowned slightly when he realized that he was nearing the end, and as he was done playing the last note, he slowly stood up and bowed. Much to his surprise, he was given a standing ovation by them.

Was his mother crying? He could see her from there and a part of him was definitely worried. Did he mess up again? He glumly moved to the backstage, for it was the next competitor's turn. He heaved a sigh that he had been holding. He really wanted to win this, and from what he knew, he did his best.

Minako's figure appeared and she hugged him. "That was so great, Yuuri!" she said, chuckling, as she ruffled his soft, black hair. His eyes widened in appreciation of the praise. Yuuri had talent in the first place. It would be a waste if he did not try competing. Yuuri smiled. It meant a lot coming from her. "Thank you, Teacher Minako."

The results came in, and he did not expect it. He won his first competition ever! Though, he was at least two years older than his competitors. He was at least expecting to be in second or third place, but this was of course, too much.

 He smiled as he received his first certificate and shook hands with an old, jovial man with graying hair. "It's the first time, I have seen you here," he said as people took a few photos of them. "I look forward to seeing you on to other competitions!" He was one of the judges.

It had been a string of events, then. He practiced a lot, attended a musical school, and tried to become better each year. He joined a number of competitions as the years passed and got first place on the most of them. The only misses the first place when he gets utterly nervous, that he made mistakes on the first part of the score. He winced at hearing it, but he had to get his focus back.

 There were a lot of people good with too. There was his foreign roommate named Phichit. He was from Thailand and he was very good with the violin. He had a very pleasing and outgoing personality and he's very easy to get along with. He never really competed with Yuuri because they have different majors, but Phichit once noted that he could feel something different about Yuuri's music.

It was a day of a competition. He would soon advance to the final round if ever he won this. He was on the way to the venue, while he was studying the sheet music. He was playing Rachmaninoff today.

He stopped walking, looked up at the stoplight, and waited for its signal before crossing the street. Just then, a deafening, loud screech came from an incoming car. The driver fell asleep behind the wheel.

Yuuri's breath hitched, and everything that happened next was very fast. His body hurt all over, and he's finding difficulty to breathe. There was something warm pooling under his body. Blood. He can't move but he was trying very hard to keep his consciousness.

There were loud, frantic screams around him that were slowly fading away.

"Call an ambulance immediately!" "Gosh, is he still alive?" "Please, stay awake!" Those were the last words he heard before everything faded to black.

 The next thing he knew was he was lying in a soft bed. There was a soft, background sound of beeping of the machines that were attached to him. He opened his eyes and saw a white ceiling. He can't move, but he felt as if he were floating away somewhere. It was probably because of the anesthetics. He heard a soft gasp and his eyes went to a short brown haired woman.

"Uh, who are you?" he spoke almost inaudibly. The face was anything but familiar. He needed to see his mom more than anything! The woman sniffed and immediately broke into tears. Someone rushed inside upon hearing the voice and it was someone of the same age as her. "Yuuri, why?" he recognized that voice. She was covering her face with her hands and was very upset. But why does she...

"Hiroko, calm down," he said, hugging her to calm her down. Their voices... Crap. Why didn't he?

 He picturing their faces on his head and to see if they were the same people, but it made his head hurt. A surge of panic came over him and the machines beeped more loudly. His mom picked up something and pressed the button.

"Mom?" he tried to stand up. "But why..." Her ears perked up when he called her, and she sighed in relief. He was just probably in shock. She would still love Yuuri the same even if he loses his memories, but she knew, more than anyone else, that it would be very hard for him.

"Don't move Yuuri, " his mom chided. He looked at his mom's face. Her hairstyle was the same as before - short shoulder length brown hair. He could recognize her round glasses before, too. A doctor and nurses came in to check on to him.

 "What happened, Mrs. Katsuki?!" the doctor asked as he moved towards them. "He's finally awake... After two weeks," she replied, letting them take over the floor. Two weeks?! "We'll ask Yuuri some other questions later, but for now we'll check his status," he said to his mom. The doctor said that he broke a number of bones and he had a pretty bad concussion. They would have to ask for an fMRI, as well.

The next day, Yuuri had a schedule with his neuropsychologist. "Can you state who you are? What is the last thing you remember?," she asked, as she prepared to write notes. She had a cute ballpen with fluffy, little poodle prints on it. He had always liked dogs.

"I'm Yuuri Katsuki, 20 years old. I play the piano, and I was actually going to a competition before I..." he didn't want to say it out loud, and she just nodded. "Your mom told me you didn't recognize her immediately," she said pointedly, and she was right.

"Do you remember the name of your mom?"

"Hiroko Katsuki," he replied. "My memories were pretty intact," he said honestly.

"Okay then," she said before taking out a picture.

"Do you know who this was?" It was a picture of a brunet man, but he did not recognize it all. "He couldn't be possibly be related to me," he looked down. He promised to say everything on his mind after all. "Yuuri," she began slowly. "This was you," the doctor said, with a glum look on her face.

"Our inference was right. You have an acquired prosopagnosia or face blindness. The fMRI..." He felt as if his world around him crashed down. Yuuri could not hear it anymore when she started explaining things about his condition.

He was never comfortable with strangers. Now, even his parents and friends will look like strangers to him. It was scary. He looked at the other pictures the doctor had. He was in denial at first. The more he tried, the more he gets frustrated.

 He finally asked the doctor for a mirror and she gave it to him, with a rather sad look on her face Yuuri can see his own facial features, his eyes, nose, and lips, but he could not quite remember that he actually looked like that. He touched his own face, just to make sure that it was really his, and it was.

* * *

 

For the next two years, he was subjected to physical therapy to regain his own mobility, but there were wounds that cannot be healed. Physical therapy could be very difficult. You need to have a powerful mind too and believe in yourself that you could walk again.

His parents and therapist were very encouraging. If it was not for them, he would have to use a crouch for the rest of his life. "You can do it, Yuuri!" the male therapist said, as he was clenching his fists on the air. Yuuri bit his lips, as his hands.held the rails. It was so painful, but he could almost see the end. He was almost there. He took a few more steps to reach the end before he stumbled down on the floor.

His therapist quickly came to assist him and gave him water. Walking was still very painful, and he was tearing up. "You did great, Yuuri," his therapist smiled at him. He was trying to catch his breath as he took the water bottle from him, and took large gulps of it.

He never really liked the feeling of being weak, that was why he was doing his best.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri stopped playing the piano. When he tries to play again, the sound sounded so hollow and lifeless. Even though he regained his ability to move on his own, he stopped going to music school.

It was a huge sea of people with unrecognizable faces. He would sometimes go out for a jog, and some people would greet him. Yuuri recognized them by their voices. He was a (former) musician after all, and differentiating one voice from another is a thing that he had to learn.

He blamed the piano, it was what caused this. If he wasn't so invested in it, he would not be like this.The sleek black piano was still sitting on the corner of his room, and dust was piling up on it. A fleeting thought came to his mind - probably, he was taken over by greed too.

Yuuri had not watched the television for a long while. He thinks it's pointless. Movies and TV series don't make much sense to him. It's quite difficult for him to follow the plot of it. He just wanted the noise to drown the silence in his room. He was just randomly switching from one channel to another when he finally stopped on one channel.

He was a light-haired man, and he was playing an original composition on the violin. Yuuri can't bring himself to change the channel. The music he makes was so beautiful.

 His name flashed on the bottom of the screen and his hazel brown eyes widened. "Viktor Nikiforov" He was the young, violin prodigy he saw years ago. He was now playing an original piece and it was still beautiful as before.

Yuuri found himself holding his breath until the man finished playing. He gave a bow and he smiled at the camera. He wanted to make music like that, music that can make everyone happy. Why had he forgotten that?


End file.
